Archive for August, 2011

I'm still wondering I will feel like I actually live here in Austin! It could be the lack of routine or lack of feeling of home, but I still feel like I'm on an extended vacation. With that said, staying focused has been very difficult.
I have managed to finish up a little personal project. I wanted to start a design portfolio of pieces that I feel represent my aesthetic and represent the type of work that I would like to do. And these wedding pieces are what I have come up with.
I'm thinking of adding that save the date to my custom shop. I think it could be super cute for any place in the U.S.! And all of this amazing photography? All by the oh-so-talented, Paige Newton.
More information about the wedding designs can be found in the new wedding page.

Remember this post about how I wanted to make an upholstered headboard? Well, I finally did it and I took some pictures along the way to share with you how easy the whole process was. Just to give you an idea, I made the buttons in about 30 minutes one evening and the rest of the work was done in about 2 and a half hours (not including shopping time and choosing a fabric and headboard shape! That took much longer.)
The images below can be used as a reference, but I would recommend checking out this tutorial by Centsational Girl. She does a fabulous job explaining and illustrating the whole process. I just wanted to share my story.
First, I want to share the cost of the whole project. In the end I ended up spending a bit more than I wanted, but still MUCH less than if I had gone out and purchased a ready-made headboard. The prices below are not the actual costs, but pretty darn close from what I can remember.
Button Kit: $12.00
Fabric: $16.00 (1 yard of upholstery fabric from Glick Discount Warehouse)
Wood: FREE (I used my Home Depot gift card that I received when I cashed in my credit card reward points. BUT if you have to buy some, I used the 1/4" plywood so that it would be much lighter to hang. This is about $20.00)
Foam: $16.00 (2.5 yards of 1" foam. Most tutorials will recommend 2" thick foam, but 1" was much cheaper. I also had a 50% off coupon, so the actual cost was $32.00)
Batting: $8.00 (on sale for 40% off!)
Hardware: FREE (Also was able to use my Home Depot gift card, but only a few bucks if you need to pick this up.)
Other materials used that I had on hand: scissors, thread, saber saw, spray adhesive, staple gun and staples.
Total: $52.00!
I started by marking out my shape on the wood. And then I cut it using my dad's saber saw. (Thanks, Dad!) And then drilled the tiniest little holes in the wood for the buttons.
The foam was attached with spray adhesive.
I then layered the batting and fabric on the foam. I needed a clear, open surface to work and this meant the floor. Puppies LOVE helping with DIY projects.
Figuring out how to string the buttons on was quite a challenge. I ended up threading the needle, putting it through the wood and foam backwards, putting on the button, re-threading the needle and pulling the needle back through. Keeping in mind that the needle NEVER fully came through the wood or foam. I tried threading it normally and couldn't get the needle back through the wood to save my life!
Once the buttons were in place, I stapled the fabric by stretching it around the wood and screwed in the hardware. And this is the finished product!
Stay tuned for more house pictures soon...

Finally, I have edited my images and have put a few new original paintings in the shop. I still have a few more to add and will continue to add a few every day this week.
In case you are not familiar with my mini paintings, these are all originals painted in acrylic on small wooden plaques. The Texas paintings can also be personalized with a little heart over the city of your choosing.
Be sure to check out the rest here!